Some consumers say Apple is losing its 'cool' factor

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Holly Riggle, a
29-year-old white-collar worker from Ohio, is just the kind of
everyday customer Apple Inc would love to have for its
new iPhone 6, which launches Friday.

But Riggle is sticking to her Android smartphone, calling
Apple less "original" than it was under former Chief Executive
Officer Steve Jobs. She is one of the 16 percent of respondents
in a Reuters/Ipsos poll who said Apple had become somewhat or
much less cool in the last two years.

By comparison, some 11 percent of respondents said that
Android had lost some sheen in the same timeframe. In a similar
poll a year ago, 14.3 percent of 1,379 people surveyed thought
Apple had lost its cool image between 2011 and 2012.

While still a juggernaut, with analysts expecting sales of
around 9 million iPhone 6s in its launch weekend, Apple may be
losing some of its shine, according to the poll.

More Americans feel that Apple has lost its "coolness"
quotient than has the Android brand, according to the poll,
conducted Sept. 8-13 and had a margin of error of 2.9 percent.

When questioned on how they perceive five popular technology
brands - Apple, Android, Microsoft Corp, Dell Inc
and Hewlett-Packard Co - respondents gave the
highest coolness factor rating to the Android brand, which
includes devices such as Samsung and others that run on Google
Inc's mobile operating software.

About 50 percent said that in the last one to two years, the
Android brand had grown cooler, compared with 48 percent who
voted for Apple.

Although the poll is based on a limited sample, it reflects
how Android products, which tend to be less expensive, have
caused Apple to shed some of its buzz.

"Especially when you have competitors who are doing a lot of
innovative things themselves and great advertising, it's not
surprising that Apple doesn't have the same cachet and coolness
that it once did," said Kevin Lane Keller, a branding expert and
professor at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business.

APPLE VERSUS ANDROID

The mobile phone wars have become a lot like politics, with
battling Democrats and Republicans, said Rob Janoff, the
designer of the Apple logo and an independent branding and
design expert based in Chicago.

"You can't carry that magic forever," Janoff said, but that
does not mean consumers should dismiss mature brands. "I think
people have to accept that companies that are out there, they
age."

Last year when it launched its previous version of the
iPhone, Apple sold 9 million iPhone 5Ss and 5Cs in the first
three days in stores. But drawing a comparison with the iPhone 6
is tricky as sales are based on availability, and Apple has not
shared comparable details.

Also, this time the iPhone is not launching in China on
Friday, unlike last time, Shannon Cross, an analyst with Cross
Research, explained.

Many customers will need to wait until next month for their
new iPhones after Apple logged a record 4 million first-day
pre-orders, double the number for the iPhone 5 two years ago.

Errand-service TaskRabbit, said about 550 people in the
United States and London have hired individuals at $25 an hour
to stand in line at Apple stores to grab the new iPhone. This
was up from 350 requests during the iPhone 5 launch two year
ago.

San Francisco-based startup has not disclosed its total user
base but has grown considerably in the last year and expects to
add about 2.5 million users by the end of 2014.

Apple's iPhone is "easily broken and expensive to fix," said
Jim Jackson, a 55-year old from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, who
participated in the survey.

"Apple is following Samsung at this point in terms of
design," Jackson added. "A couple of years ago they were making
fun of Samsung because Samsung grew big and now they've gone
big," he said, referring to the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch
iPhone 6-Plus that will hit store shelves on Friday.

That was the only area where Riggle saw innovation at Apple.

"The only new idea they've come up with is that they're
adjusting the size of their products," she said.
(Reporting by Malathi Nayak; Editing by Ken Wills and Lisa
Shumaker)